You lot're simply out with your dog, enjoying a walk and then SCREECH!… 3 blocks from home, she puts on the brakes and refuses to take even 1 footstep further.
Why? Why does this happen?

Hither are 10 possibilities:

  1. Young dogs have an instinct to stick shut to home. Information technology is a genetic safety measure out that keeps puppies from wandering off (just like the following instinct they have at this age). As they become more mature and independent they are more willing to become farther from dwelling house base. A immature dog may non really understand walking on a leash nevertheless. (That staying close instinct seems to go away overnight! This is why letting dogs off-leash is dangerous until a recall is very strong.)
  2. Dogs that are fearful, stressed, or anxious can apply stopping as a way of avoiding scary things.
  3. Your dog may be putting the breaks on because they know the walk is going to cease soon.
  4. It may be your walking/training strategy. Often anchoring on walks is a consequence of our response to the domestic dog's attention-seeking behavior. Luring, bribing, pleading, or negotiating with the domestic dog creates a difficult cycle to break. You do not want to teach your dog to stop mid-walk for a care for.
    What practise you exercise when your dog puts on the brakes?
  5. There could exist a comfort issue or health upshot that is causing your canis familiaris to stop walking such as:
    1. Sore hips, backs, and muscles crusade pain, and this can cause your dog to terminate walking. Cheque with your vet if you doubtable this.
    2. Growing pains. If you have a young, fast-growing, large breed dog, this is very likely.
    3. Some dogs will stop because the harness used to walk them is uncomfortable, sick-fitting, or has rubbed raw places at the armpit. See if your domestic dog stops less when using a collar vs. harness.
    4. Physical discomfort: Dogs that are too hot, besides common cold, who have an injured boom or a paw pad burned past hot asphalt or snow and ice will stop on walks.
  6. Did you know animals are superstitious? Is your dog stopping at the same spot every fourth dimension? It could be a spot where something wondrous has happened such as finding a half-eaten biscuit on the ground. Information technology might happen again.
  7. Information technology could also be something equally simple equally wanting to scent the bush every other dog in the neighborhood has peed on. Or squirrels hang-out nearby.
  8. Some dogs but don't experience like a walk. I'm looking at you, bulldogs.
  9. Over-exercise. Possibly your dog is merely plain dog-tired.
  10. Your dog wants to greet another canis familiaris or person and will not motion until immune to do and so. Information technology's function of his mayoral campaign.

Information technology'southward often more than nuanced and a combination of the above. Y'all'll likely need to practice some pet detective work to sort this ane out.

Here are ten things yous can try to get your dog up and moving again:

  1. Sit with your dog if she'south worried. Let her work out her environment for a minute and be patient with her. Give her a petty pep talk.
  2. Reverse the usual walk road or mix it upward a trivial.
  3. Walking around the dog and marking/rewarding the barrel coming up, treating once the dog is walking (not before!). This is how to fix a learned behavior without necessarily finding the crusade.
  4. It's a perfect opportunity to reinforce the "stay" and teach a release cue. Reward your domestic dog only when they are moving to yous.
  5. Merely get out. (OK, non really.) Necktie the leash to something sturdy and simply walk off and exit the domestic dog as if y'all don't care what they do. You do demand someone else for this to watch and make sure the dog is okay while y'all are gone. You can fifty-fifty have the other person be the one to take the leash and stand at that place similar a postal service when you walk away. The idea plainly here is to motivate the domestic dog to want to become with you and non exist left behind. It also surprises them when you do this!
  6. You could get out your phone and talk to someone (or pretend to). Dogs understand that this ways you take attention elsewhere and their behavior isn't every bit of import. Information technology takes the pressure off.
  7. Teach your dog to "Touch" (hand to the nose) and ask your domestic dog to touch to get her to move. Reward by tossing the treat in the direction you lot want to walk. By rewarding the "Touch," you are not reinforcing the anchoring.
  8. Look effectually. Maybe become out a volume? When your dog finally moves, mark, and toss a treat in the direction you want to walk.
  9. Teach "Let's Go" by saying it just before your dog is about to walk anyway. Mark and reward with treats or a favorite toy. A proficient one for worried dogs!
  10. Endeavor this piddling exercise:
    • Become to the stop of the leash and kneel facing your dog. You can have a treat or toy or not but this may help the process. Face her and encourage her to come up to you lot.
    • Usually, the canis familiaris will come forward when y'all are in this "new" kneeling position. All they have to practice is move forward that short altitude and they get a reward.
    • When she comes to yous in the kneeling position, immediately move back to the cease of the leash again and repeat. This turns into a game quickly and she will go on moving forward just that leash length to get their reward.
    • When your dog is easily moving forwards, begin to kneel sideways instead of facing her and kickoff to walk slowly along, rewarding every bit you go. If she stalls out, get back to the get-go.

Tips!

  • Don't pull with constant pressure on the dog. That just causes your dog to dig in, or go the opposite fashion.
  • Don't pull out a treat to lure your dog forward. That may be how you got here, to begin with.
  • Longer walks should be done when yous have the time to anticipate this behavior, otherwise, the demand to rush will exacerbate frustration.
  • For success, do these techniques earlier you need them!
  • If you have a dog who is stopping on their walks due to fear, get in touch. We can work on this together.